Family Ties That Bind
by protejerinnocencia
Summary: Sequel to Catch Me When I Fall.  Piper and Phoebe have lost one sister and gained another.  What they don't know is that this new sibling will bring with her memories from the past they'd just assume forget.
1. Problem Child

Problem Child

I stared at the computer screen on my desk. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I should be doing. I'd handled all the cases for the day and I still had an hour before I could go home. Suddenly I heard my name being called.

"Paige," one of my co-workers called. I looked up.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Phone for you," she responded. I let out a sigh as I picked up the phone and pressed the button that was flashing.

"Paige Matthews, how may I help you?" I spoke into the receiver. I sounded like a drone.

"Ms. Matthews, it's Kathleen Masters," the woman on the other end of the line spoke. I was pulling a total blank. Who was Kathleen Masters? Then, like a ton of bricks, it dawned on me.

"Oh, hi Kathleen," I finally greeted.

"There's a problem," Kathleen informed me. She sounded a little freaked out.

"A problem….like what kind of problem?" I murmured. I hated problems, especially this late in the day.

"Well…I'm sorry but we just can't take her," she said.

"What do you mean you can't take her?" I retorted.

"Well she scares the other kids. And honestly, I think she may be possessed," she answered, sounding very freaked out.

"She's not possessed, Mrs. Masters," I said as calmly as I could. This was just great. I'd just put this kid there two days ago.

"I'm really sorry but you have to take her back," Kathleen stated and the call ended.

"Hello? Mrs. Master?" I spoke, not believing she'd just hung up on me like that.

"Everything alright?" I heard over my shoulder. I slowly turned around to see my boss.

"No…I have to go find my 'problem child' another foster home," I answered, not pleased at all.

"Again? Didn't you just place her a day or two ago?" he asked.

"I know, I know. Spare me the speeches. I just can't figure out what is up with this kid," I grumbled. I pulled her file from my desk and grabbed my purse and keys. I needed to stop at the Manor before I went and picked her up. Mostly I just needed to vent to my sisters.

That is still a new concept. I've only known I've had sisters for a few months now. Along with that little surprise came the even bigger one, I'm a witch. I'm getting better at it though. I'm starting to feel like I'm a part of something. I climbed into my car and headed out of the parking lot.

When I pulled up to the Manor I only saw Phoebe's car. I pulled up behind her and got out. I hoped Piper was home too. I needed her opinion on this whole mess too. I reached the front door and stopped. Did I knock or just walk in? I stood there for a good thirty seconds debating before I tried the door, finding it open and walked in.

"Hello? Anybody home?" I called out.

"Paige, hey!" Phoebe greeted, coming towards me from the living room.

"The door was unlocked…so I just came in," I said tentatively.

"Of course it's ok, sweetie," Phoebe answered, giving me a smile.

"Is Piper around?" I finally asked.

"She's out at the grocery store with Leo. But she'll be back soon. Why, is something wrong?" she answered. We headed for the sun room where we sat down.

"It's not a problem exactly, it's more of a work thing," I answered, toying with the edge of the folder in my arms.

"Want to talk about it?" Phoebe pressed. I swear sometimes it's like she can read my mind.

"Yeah, actually I do. I was hoping you guys might have some advice for me," I answered, leaning back in the chair.

"There's this case I have. She's been in the system for the last three years. Her parents divorced and her mom got custody," I began to give brief background on the case.

"I guess her mom couldn't handle raising her after her ex-husband died so she just stuck her in the system," I concluded. It really was a sad story.

"That's so sad," Phoebe murmured.

"And I got her case a year ago. She'd already been in about six or seven foster homes," I sighed.

"Since then she's been bouncing from place to place like two or three times a month," I added.

"Poor kid. It must have been so hard to have such a huge change happen all at once," Phoebe interrupted.

"And I put her in a home two days ago. It's a great home. The family is really nice and they've had success with other foster kids. But I just got a call and they said they need to give her back," I groaned.

"So what are you going to do?" Phoebe asked. Before I could answer the front door opened and two pair of footsteps echoed on the floor.

"A little help here," Piper called out. Phoebe and I got up, heading into the foyer, taking bags from Piper.

"Oh, hi Paige," Piper greeted once the bags were out of her face.

"Hey, Piper. Hi Leo," I greeted. Leo gave me a quick smile as he headed for the kitchen. Phoebe and I followed. I set the bags down and began to unload, suddenly remembering that I don't really know where they keep all of their groceries. Luckily, Piper took the frozen peas from my hand as well as the bag I'd set down and began putting things away.

"So, Paige has a dilemma," Phoebe announced. Piper didn't stop moving but apparently Phoebe knew she'd listen because she kept talking.

"She has this foster kid who bounces from home to home a couple times a month," Phoebe summed up.

"And that's our problem, how?" Piper asked, turning to face us.

"Well…I'm trying to figure out how I can put her in another home tonight but I can't get paperwork through that fast. I'm going to need to find a place to put her," I explained.

"Did you just imply what I think you just implied?" Piper snapped. I jumped a little. She didn't have to be so grumpy.

"What am I implying?" I asked, feeling confused.

"Paige, can you give us a minute?" Phoebe asked me, stepping in. I nodded and wandered in the direction of the sun room.

"Piper, it's just for one night. I mean…I'm sure we can somehow manage to keep the demons from attacking," I could hear Phoebe saying.

"What about the Book?" Piper retorted.

"We won't let her in the attic," Phoebe answered. I heard Piper let out a huff and then footsteps came towards me.

"Ok, she can stay for one night," Piper announced. I couldn't resist hugging her.

"Thank you so much. I really owe you guys," I exclaimed.

"I can stay tonight if you want….to make her my responsibility," I added.

"Yeah, that would be good," Phoebe agreed. I smiled broadly as I retrieved the file from the couch and headed for the front door.

"I'll be back in like a half hour," I called, shutting the door behind me. Once I was back in my car, I headed with a renewed sense of purpose over to the Masters'. I had just climbed out of the car when the front door opened and Kathleen came running out.

"What took you so long?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry, I had something I had to do first. Is she ready?" I apologized. Kathleen nodded and I looked up to see a young girl carrying a suitcase. I couldn't quite read her expression. Part of it was sad, that was obvious. But there was another part that seemed happy. She looked at me as she put her suitcase in the car.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized as I gave Kathleen a firm hand shake. The first few minutes of the ride were quiet.

"So where do I go now?" she finally spoke up from the passenger seat.

"Well I have a place for you to stay tonight and I'll start looking for a new place tomorrow," I answered. I caught her give me an eye roll.

"Look, you need to at least be nice to these people. They're doing me a huge favor letting you stay here tonight," I said sternly.

"Whatever," she sighed. I pulled up to a stop sign and slammed on the breaks a little to get her attention.

"No, not whatever. You're going to be respectful. You may think you can go around being rude to other people and their families but I will not have you disrespecting my sisters," I lectured. That seemed to shut her up.

The rest of the ride to the Manor was silent. It was tense but at least I'd gotten through to her, even though it was probably temporary. I pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. Together we climbed out and headed for the front door. As calmly as I could I pushed the door open and led her inside.


	2. Accidental Exposure

Accidental Exposure

I ushered her through the front door, pulling it closed as gently as I could. The house seemed a little too quiet for it to be the Manor. I lead her to the living room. I figured she'd be safe there.

"Stay here. I'll be right back," I told her, heading towards the stairs. I found Piper and Phoebe in the attic, pouring over the Book of Shadows.

"What's going on?" I asked, making Phoebe jump. She clutched her chest for a second before letting out a breath.

"No, everything is fine. We're just you know….looking at the Book," Phoebe answered.

"I know I haven't been a witch very long but don't you generally look at the Book when something is wrong?" I pressed.

"Sometimes but we don't know everything that is in here," Piper answered.

"It's really nothing to worry about," Phoebe added.

"Oh…well my kid is here. Do you want to meet her?" Paige informed her sisters.

"Yeah…she has a name right?" Phoebe answered, starting to follow Paige downstairs.

"Yes she has a name," Paige retorted. Thankfully she found the girl still in the living room.

"Piper, Phoebe, this is Bree," I introduced.

"Bree, these are my sisters Piper and Phoebe Halliwell," I concluded, gesturing back the other direction. Bree stood up, not making eye contact with the two women before her.

"It's nice to meet you, Bree," Phoebe said, extending her hand. The girl just shrugged. Phoebe retracted her hand, raising her eyebrows.

"Ok, how about we get you settled upstairs. I think Piper is about to start dinner," I suggested.

Bree picked up her suitcase and Phoebe and I led her up the stairs and into the spare room. So it was really Prue's room. I know how hard it was for Piper to move all of Prue's stuff up to the attic. I couldn't imagine losing a sister. I saw Phoebe look around and sigh a little. Bree didn't seem to notice Phoebe's demeanor change.

"Well the bathroom is down the hall and Piper's room is across the hall. I'm just that way if you need anything tonight," Phoebe told Bree.

"Ok," she muttered. At least it wasn't 'whatever'. Phoebe gave Bree another smile and headed down the hall.

"So I only have to stay here one night?" Bree asked me once Phoebe was out of hearing range.

"Hopefully. I mean I'll find a new place as soon as I can," I told her, sitting down on the bed.

"Can you make me a promise?" I asked once she'd sat down next to me.

"Maybe," the thirteen-year-old mumbled.

"Can you try and stick it out in the next place?" I asked.

"I know it's hard when they're not your real Mom or Dad," I began.

"No you don't," she shot back.

"Actually I do. I was a foster kid too," I told her defensively. She looked at me in shock.

"Really?" she breathed and I nodded.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"I guess I can try," she added almost as an afterthought.

"Thank you," I sighed, patting her on the arm lightly.

I left her there, hoping she would get it together enough to be a little pleasant at dinner. Half an hour later she came down, hands shoved in her pockets. Leo had gotten home, from wherever it was he'd been. Thankfully Cole was nowhere to be found. I didn't want him around right now. He always seemed to bring trouble.

"Bree, could you pass the corn please?" I asked, snapping her out of her daze. She reached for the container, sliding it my way. I gave her a smile as she turned her gaze back to her dinner. She was never this quiet and withdrawn. Maybe my little lecture in the car had scared her more than I thought. Or perhaps she was this quiet with strangers. The meal continued on without interruption until suddenly, Bree slammed her fork down on the table. We all looked up at in her in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Bree answered. Her hands suddenly disappeared into her lap. She still had a decent amount of food on her plate.

"Is the food ok?" Piper asked. No one ever left her food untouched, even if they didn't really like it, they ate it.

"It's fine," the thirteen-year-old mumbled. She looked at her glass of milk and gasped as it started to rise without anyone touching it. She quickly shut her eyes, the glass 'clanking' down instantly. I exchanged a look with my sisters. What was going on? Silently, Piper got up and Phoebe followed. When she motioned for me to join them, I shot Leo an apologetic look. We retreated to the living room.

"Did she make that glass levitate?" Phoebe asked in a hushed whisper. Piper nodded.

"Wait….that's not possible….is it?" I stammered.

"Well…I mean I suppose she could be a witch. Looks like you've found your first innocent," Phoebe said. She almost sounded excited.

"Wait…why wouldn't I have figured this out earlier?" I asked.

'Well it's hard to see an innocent when you don't know what you're looking for," Piper told me.

"Ok…so maybe she is an innocent. But what am I supposed to save her from? The big bad foster system?" I retorted.

"Well that's what you need figure out. I mean you found this girl for a reason. We'll help you figure out what the reason is," Phoebe answered. Just then there was a shriek in the kitchen.

"Piper! Get in here," Leo bellowed. We all went running to see all of the dishes and silverware from the table levitating several feet in the air. Our footsteps must have startled Bree because it all came crashing down, shattering on the floor. Bree quickly turned and sprinted past us and up the stairs.

"That was good china!" Piper shouted.

"She's just a kid,' Phoebe breathed, bending down to start picking up the broken plates. I could tell that Piper was not happy. Leo stood up starting to help Phoebe clean when all of a sudden he blew up in little tiny orbs. He materialized and glared at Piper.

"What was that for?" he asked his wife.

"Sorry…I just needed to blow something up," she grumbled.

"I think…I'm going to go talk to Bree," I said, excusing myself rather quickly. I didn't want to suffer Piper's wrath right now.

I headed upstairs to find the door to Prue's room shut. I hoped she hadn't locked herself in. I also hoped that she wouldn't try and jump out the window. I tested the handle. It was still unlocked. I knocked a couple times.

"Bree, can I come in?" I asked through the wood.

"Just go away," she responded. Her voice was scratchy so she'd probably been crying.

"I want to talk to you. I promise nothing is going to happen," I assured her. Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door and she pulled it open. I walked in and joined her on the edge of the bed.

"She hates me," she sniffed.

"Piper doesn't hate you. She just…is a little attached to her dining ware," I replied.

"I didn't mean to do it…it just happened. I swear," she protested, looking very scared.

"I know what it feels like…to have this power inside of you and not know what to do with it," I said gently.

"Another symptom of foster care?" she asked.

"No…a symptom of being in this family," I murmured.

"Is this why you've been bouncing between so many foster homes? They catch you doing this?" I probed. She nodded.

"It's nothing bad, Bree. You're a witch," I explained. After hearing the words pass through my lips I realized it probably didn't sound too good.

"That's supposed to be good?" she asked.

"Yeah…actually it is. It's a gift you've been given. And I think I'm here to help you learn to control it," I answered.

"I just found I was a witch a few months ago. It's pretty scary," I sighed.

"Yeah. Mrs. Masters said I was possessed," Bree mumbled.

"I know…she told me. But don't worry, you're not possessed," I reassured her. We fell into silence but for the first time since I'd met her it wasn't completely uncomfortable.

"Knock, knock," Phoebe called, banging her hand on the door frame.

"Can I come in?" she asked and I nodded. She crossed the threshold.

"I just wanted to let you know that everything is ok. There's nothing to worry about. Your secret is safe with us," Phoebe whispered to Bree, bending down to her eye level.

"Are you one too?" she asked softly.

"A witch? You bet. And so is Piper. But you can't go around telling people, ok. We have to keep our identities a secret," Phoebe answered with a smile. Bree looked over to me.

"Are you sure this is a good thing?" she asked again.

"It's a great thing," I promised her, squeezing her shoulder.

"And we're here to help you with whatever you need," Phoebe added calmly. Bree bit her lip but nodded and once more we headed downstairs.


	3. The Talk

The Talk

I was the last one down the stairs as we went in search of Piper. I hoped she wasn't going to overreact about the plates. She seemed to overreact too a lot of things since I'd met her. We finally found her and Leo in the sun room.

"Sorry about the plates," Bree apologized. Piper looked up.

"It's not the first thing to break in this house because of magic," she sighed. A part of me wanted to know what she meant. But I didn't want to look stupid in front of my first innocent. Leo looked between us and stood up.

"I'll let you girls handle this," he said and headed for the kitchen. I joined Piper on the couch and Phoebe did the same, pulling a chair over for Bree so she could sit down.

"Gosh, where should we start?" Phoebe sighed.

"Have you always been able to move things with your mind?" I asked. Bree looked at the ground. This was going to be like pulling teeth.

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug.

"Well it's not like you would not notice it," Piper retorted.

"Piper…we're trying to help not scare her," Phoebe scolded.

"It's ok if you don't know," I tried to assure Bree.

"Just because we've had our powers all our lives doesn't mean everyone has. I mean look at Paige," Phoebe added, pointing to me.

"You weren't always a…witch?" Bree asked, looking at me.

"Well it's kind of complicated. I didn't know I was a witch until recently. I guess I always was one, since my Mom was a witch," I answered, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Maybe I was too. I don't remember moving stuff," Bree stated.

"So is that all a witch can do…move stuff?" she asked after a brief pause.

"No, witches have all kinds of powers. I can see things that have already happened and are going to happen. I can also levitate," Phoebe explained.

"Aren't you developing a new power?" I prodded.

"Well…I'm not sure what it is yet…so I'll let you know when I figure it out," she whispered.

"Piper can freeze things and blow things up," I continued to explain. Piper just smiled.

"What can you do?" Bree asked me.

"Well you and I sort of have the same power. We can both move things with our minds. But I'm part whitelighter so I make things orb," I answered. I sounded so confident to have only been doing this for a few months.

"A what?" she questioned, looking confused.

"Leo!" Piper bellowed, making all of us jump. Instead of just walking in from the kitchen, he appeared in orbs, eliciting a squeak from Bree.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Meet our resident whitelighter," Phoebe said with a small laugh

"How…how'd you do that?" Bree stammered. I just looked at her. I couldn't blame her for freaking out. After all, I'd done the same thing not too long ago.

"Whitelighters are like angels to witches. And….they orb," I mumbled an explanation.

"It's our way of transporting ourselves when our charges need us," Leo expounded and I nodded.

"I can do that too since I'm half whitelighter," I added.

"Guys, let's not overwhelm the kid," Piper shot.

We fell into silence for a while. I watched Bree closely, hoping she was taking this all in. She seemed to understand it all.

"Why can't we tell anyone?" she blurted. I looked over at Piper and Phoebe. They could answer that question better than I could.

"Well because some people would use our magic for bad things. It's just very dangerous," Piper explained.

"And not everyone believes in magic," Phoebe added.

"So it's a secret? Does anybody know?" she murmured.

"Well we have a friend who is a cop who knows we're witches. We help him with cases sometimes," Phoebe replied.

"But there's a lot of evil out there. A lot of it would try to take advantage of your gift," she added. Just then there was a shimmer and Cole appeared. This was not what I needed right now.

"There's some evil in here too," I mumbled.

"Well it's nice to see you too," he called. Bree turned around to look at Cole.

"How'd he get in here?" she asked, still a little shell-shocked.

"That would be an example of something evil," I told her with a smirk.

"Bree, this is my boyfriend, Cole," Phoebe introduced.

"Cole, this is Bree. She's an innocent and a new witch," she addressed her boyfriend. I just cringed.

"But Paige said he's evil," Bree interjected.

"Cute kid. Look, Phoebe I can't stay long. Bounty hunters and all but I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said, ignoring her comment.

"I'm fine. I wish you didn't have to stay down there. It's not safe," Phoebe sighed, wrapping her arms around him. I couldn't help but smile as Bree looked disgusted.

"It's not safe up here either," he murmured, kissing her.

"Ok…do you have to do that now?" I interrupted them.

"Oh were we bothering you?" Cole snickered.

"Cole, be nice," Piper snapped. He gave her a smirk and shimmered out.

"So…was he evil?" Bree questioned again.

"Yes…well he was evil. I mean…he's a demon but he's only a half demon. And he's on our side," Phoebe rambled.

"That's really confusing," Bree sighed.

"Ok…I think that's it for today. You've had a long day and we don't want to overload you with all this information. Besides, you have school in the morning," I interjected.

"Can't I stay up? I'm not six," Bree protested.

"I know but we have some things to do. You don't have to go to sleep just…get ready for tomorrow," I insisted. She let out a groan but stood up. She headed for the stairs. Once she was out of hearing range I turned to face my sisters.

"So am I supposed to feel this confused?" I asked.

"You'll get used to it…having to explain to innocents about magic," Phoebe answered.

"But I just feel like there's more that she's not saying. I know she is still upset over her dad dying. Maybe I should try and get her to talk. Maybe if she works through some of those issues she can start to control her powers?" I rambled a little.

"If you want to," Piper muttered, pushing herself up from the couch. With a nod I headed upstairs and knocked on the door. Bree pulled it open.

"Hey…I was hoping we could talk about something," I said. She let me in and once more we found ourselves sitting on the bed.

"What?" she asked.

"Well…I know you've had some problems…dealing with your dad's death," I began.

"He was like my best friend. I never really got along with my step mom," she replied.

"Yeah…I didn't always get along with my parents either," I agreed.

"My Dad told me that he was my real Dad…my biological Dad," she continued. I looked at her, puzzled. There was nothing in the paperwork that indicated her adoptive father was her biological father as well.

"He told me that he adopted me when turned eighteen. My birth Mom didn't want me," she murmured. I couldn't help but pull her into a hug. She didn't resist like I thought she would. She wrapped her arms around me and allowed me to comfort her. She sniffled a little and I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"It's ok. You can cry. Let it all out," I prompted her and she quickly complied, letting the tears fall, soaking the shoulder of my shirt.

"Why wouldn't she want me?" she sniffed.

"Well it sounds like you parents were young when you were born. It's hard to raise a baby," I answered, rubbing her back.

"I told him I hated her," she admitted.

"Hate is a strong emotion, Bree. But I know how you feel. I always wondered why my parents gave me up too," I told her.

"Did you ever find out?" she asked me.

"Yeah…they weren't supposed to be together. My mom was a witch too. And my dad was her whitelighter. They weren't supposed to be together so they had to give me up," I explained. It still hurt to talk about my birth parents. I'd finally met my birth mother, granted she was dead.

"Seems like we have a lot in common," she giggled slightly.

"Yeah I guess we do. Guess that's why you're my innocent. I'm supposed to help you and I guess I can…I know what you're going through," I responded. What happened next was not something I had anticipated…at all. Piper and Phoebe had come across Bree's file that I'd left sitting there. The next thing I knew the door flew open and Piper and Phoebe were standing there, just staring at Bree open mouthed.

"What's going on?" I asked, letting Bree go.

"I see it now," Piper murmured. I wrinkled my forehead. What the hell was she talking about?

"See what?" I asked. Before she could answer, Phoebe opened her mouth.

"Prue," she breathed.


	4. Family Tree

Family Tree

I just stared at my sisters for a minute before wildly looking around me. There was no one there. I was really confused now.

"What are you talking about, Phoebe?" I asked.

"I don't see Prue anywhere," I continued.

"No, Paige…not here….in her," Phoebe corrected me. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"We need to talk…upstairs," Piper ordered. Bree and I stood up, starting to follow but Piper shook her head and Bree stopped moving. We trudged up to the attic and they rounded on me. Before either of them could speak, I managed to get a word in edge wise.

"What is going on? I'm really confused. What does any of this have to do with Prue?" I asked. It was then I realized Piper was still holding Bree's file.

"Have you actually looked at this?" she asked.

"Her case history, yeah," I answered.

"Well perhaps you neglected to look at this," she stated, opening the folder and showing me Bree's birth certificate.

"You really shouldn't have gone through this. It's confidential information," I scolded them.

"Well next time don't leave it just lying around," Piper spat back. I bit my lip, not wanting to get her pissed off at me and looked down at the piece of paper. It had her name on it.

"What exactly am I…" I started to ask when it jumped out at me. There on the line for mother's name was written, Prudence Halliwell. I looked up at my sisters and down at the paper again. Was I really reading that right?

"You're telling me…Prue…had a daughter?" I stumbled over the words.

They both nodded 'yes'. I suddenly felt the need to sit down and managed to orb into a chair before falling over. Bree was my niece? This was all too much.

"Why would she…give up a child?" I asked. Piper and Phoebe shared a look.

"After Brianna was born, Prue sort of forbid any of us from talking about it. She just wanted to move on with her life," Phoebe answered me.

"That doesn't answer the question," I retorted.

"Paige this isn't easy for us to talk about. It's kind of been a sore subject for a while," Piper said.

"What is a sore subject?" I begged.

"When she was seventeen, Prue was raped. Brianna is his daughter," Piper finally answered. I cringed. I had no idea something that horrible had happened.

"That's horrible. Did she do anything about it?" I asked.

"She kept it a secret for a long time. She was so scared. I'm not sure ever would have told if I hadn't gotten a premonition of what happened," Phoebe added. I was speechless. In the course of a few minutes I'd learned I had a niece and that my oldest sister had been assaulted. I suddenly felt very overwhelmed.

"I think I just need to go lay down. This is kind of…"I trailed off.

"I know it's a lot to take in all at once. Finding out you have sisters and a niece in a matter of months is crazy," Phoebe tried to console me.

"Just…don't say anything to Brianna tonight, please. I don't want her to run away," I sighed and orbed downstairs to the couch.

The next morning I woke up to the sun streaming in through the window. I sat up, confused for a minute about where I was. When it finally sunk in that I was in the Manor I got up, heading for the kitchen. Piper was already up.

"Morning," I yawned, grabbing a cup of coffee.

"You have to tell her," were the first words out of her mouth.

"What?" I asked, still not entirely awake.

"You have to tell Brianna the truth. About us, about Prue…about who she really is," she answered.

"Can it wait until after she is done with school for the day?" I asked, sounding hopeful.

"You should probably call her in sick. This is going to take a lot of explaining," Piper answered. Groaning, I grabbed the cordless phone and headed upstairs to find the file with her school's number in it. I dialed the number and told the secretary that Brianna wouldn't be in school today because of some personal family related issues.

"And who are you?" the woman asked.

"My name is Paige Matthews, I'm her social worker," I explained.

"Alright, Ms. Matthews. We'll mark this down," the secretary told me and I ended the call. This was not going to be an easy conversation to have with Bree. I headed back downstairs to find the rest of the family, including Bree sitting around the kitchen table.

"Bree, I called you in sick from school today," I told her.

'Why?" she asked.

"There are some things that have come up that we need to talk about and they're going to take a while," I replied, sitting down at the small table. She just nodded and continued eating her cereal. The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully. I led Bree into the living room and sat her down.

"What do we have to talk about?" she asked. Boy did I feel like that question had been asked a lot lately.

"Well it's something I didn't notice until last night," I began, pulling out her birth certificate.

"I just realized who your birth mom is," I continued, holding it out for her to see. She looked at it.

"She has the same last name as your sisters," she noted. I nodded.

"That's because she's their…my oldest sister," I answered.

"What…you mean….i have aunts?" she stammered.

"Pretty crazy huh?" I sighed.

"But why would she….why would they let her give me up?" she asked, her voice rising in volume. That seemed to somehow be Piper and Phoebe's cue to walk in. She turned to look at them.

"We really couldn't make her do anything," Phoebe said, sitting down next to her.

"I was only twelve when she had you. She was only seventeen," she added.

"Then why did my Dad want me?" she probed.

"Because he loves you sweetie. She loved you too…she just wasn't ready to be a Mom," Piper interjected.

"That's what Dad said. I didn't believe him," she murmured. Phoebe suddenly got up and headed into the hallway. She returned with a framed photo.

"This was taken a few days before our Grams died," she said, pointing to Prue. It was a nice picture. Bree smiled.

"She's pretty," she commented.

"Yeah, she is," I agreed, peering over her shoulder. My sisters looked so happy there.

"Where is she?" Bree blurted. I looked Piper, hoping she wouldn't burst into tears.

"She…died a few months ago. She was killed by a demon," Piper answered, managing not to cry. Bree paled and she didn't look like she was breathing. Luckily Phoebe pulled her into a tight hug.

"You've got us now," she promised.

"But my Dad is dead too. He was a cop and he died in action," She stammered. Phoebe and Piper shared another of their knowing looks. Sometimes I wished I wasn't so new to all of this.

"He was killed by a demon too. He was trying to protect us and your mom," Piper murmured, joining in the hug. I wasn't sure about Bree but I was ready to burst out crying. I knew the feeling to lose both parents and feel like you had no one.

"It's not fair," Bree sniffled, trying to fight off tears once again.

"I know sweetie. It's not fair. But you have us now. And we're not going to let anything happen to you," Phoebe whispered. I knew then and there that I needed to get Bree out of the foster system. If Piper and Phoebe were willing to take her in I could arrange it in the next day or two.

"I wish I could have met my Mom," Bree breathed, starting to regain her composure a bit.

"I wish I could have met her too," I admitted, finally joining in the group embrace.

"I'm sure she would be very proud of you," Phoebe assured her.

"What's to be proud of? I just scare people away," Bree spat.

"Because, deep down she thought about you every day for the rest of her life. She couldn't stop thinking about you," Phoebe answered.

"How do you know?" she asked softly.

"Well…it turns out I don't have a new power. My empathy is just getting more perceptive," Phoebe murmured, more to me and Piper than Bree.

"Because I can feel what other people feel. And she never stopped thinking about you," she explained.

As we all sat there together, arms wrapped around each other, a thought came to my mind. I don't know why it popped into my head at that moment but it did. I mouthed the words 'kitchen now' to my sister sand we all untangled ourselves.

"Do you want a glass of water?" I offered my niece. She wiped at her eyes and nodded. The three of us stood up, heading into the kitchen.

"What's up?" Piper asked. I hated when she did that.

"I just had a thought. Did Andy know what happened to Prue?" I asked. Phoebe looked very uneasy.

"It's complicated. Maybe we should just show you," she said. Piper raised her eyebrow at Phoebe.

"Remember the spell Prue cast on me to show you guys my premonition?" she asked and Piper nodded.

"Well why can't we cast it on ourselves to show Paige what happened," she stated.

"Ok…do you remember the spell?" Piper asked.

"I think so. Just have to tweak it a little" she answered, grabbing a pen and piece of paper. She scribbled madly and handed the paper to me.

"Go ahead, read it," she instructed.

"Show me now, let me behold, what sisters have so far left untold. Reveal to me in entirety, show me what my sisters see," I read aloud and watched as they glowed.


	5. Memory Lane

Memory Lane

I stared at the wall across from Piper and Phoebe as an image was projected through them. It was amazing that whatever spell this was had worked.

"You should really put that spell in the Book," I said but got shushed by my sisters. I returned my attention to the projection.

_There was a knock on the front door and Prue walked out of the living room to answer it. She looked frazzled. She pulled the door open to reveal a guy about her age._

"_Andy…what are you doing here?" Prue asked, looking surprised._

"_Can I come in?" he answered, leaning on the door frame. She looked indecisive for a minute before nodding and allowing him to cross the threshold. He walked in and she shut the door. They didn't go very far._

"_So why are you here?" she asked again._

"_I'm sorry about earlier…with my ex-wife," he started._

"_Just forget it. I shouldn't have freaked out like that," Prue muttered._

"_That's not it, Prue. After you left she…maybe I should start at the beginning," he sighed. Prue led him into the living room._

"How do you know this happened?" I interjected, the projection pausing itself.

"Prue told it to u s and I guess the way the spell works, it just showed what happened," Phoebe answered. I nodded and the projection resumed.

"_What are you talking about?" Prue questioned._

"_Please don't freak out but…when I turned eighteen I privately adopted Brianna," he admitted. Prue's face paled and then in the blink of an eye she was furious._

"_You did what!" she bellowed._

"_I couldn't let her go, Prue. I know you'd made your choice. It's why we lost touch in college. I didn't want to bring it up," he mumbled. Prue stood up, starting to pace back and forth. She was trying not to blow up at him. But she wasn't very successful._

"_Why couldn't you just let it go and move on? Why did you have to go and make things complicated?" she shouted at him. Andy opened his mouth to speak but she didn't give him the time._

"_I told you that she was going to be adopted and that was it. Why did you have to be the one?" she continued, her voice cracking._

"_Prue…she's my daughter. I couldn't just lose her," he finally got in._

"_I raised her for the last ten years, Prue. She is an amazing little girl," he told her._

"_So what does any of this have to do with your ex-wife?' she spat, fighting tears._

"_She got custody of Brianna. I don't know how but she did. And she told me…she had started doing strange things," Andy answered._

"_She's coming into her powers," Prue muttered._

"_I know you didn't want to hear this, Prue…I am sorry but I wanted you to know…that she was well loved," he mumbled and stood up. Prue turned her back on him, the tears starting to fall as he left._

_Suddenly the image changed and Piper and Phoebe were in the projection, sitting next to each other on the couch. Andy was there._

"_Whatever you said to her set her off. She won't come out of her room," Piper was telling him._

"_I just wanted to apologize for upsetting her. I don't know why I even told her now. I should have known she'd freak out. Though I can't figure out why," he sighed. Piper and Phoebe shared a look and Phoebe stretched her legs out in front of her._

"_You didn't know this all those years ago but the whole pregnancy thing…it wasn't a good time for Prue," Phoebe began._

"_Well yeah…I mean she was seventeen and having a baby. I wouldn't be entirely happy about it either…" Andy tried to interject._

"_No…Andy…she never told you this…but…Brianna…isn't your daughter," Phoebe interrupted._

"_Phoebe!" Piper hissed._

"_Is that a joke?" Andy gasped._

"_No…she…was raped. She doesn't know who Brianna's biological father is," Phoebe admitted. Just then there were loud footsteps on the stairs and Prue appeared; eyes red and puffy from crying._

"_Phoebe…you have no right telling him that. It was none of your business," she spat._

"_Prue, he deserved to know the truth," Phoebe retorted._

"_That was my decision. Not yours," Prue ground out._

"_It's true?" Andy asked. Prue looked away and that was all the proof he needed. He stood once again and stormed out of the house, leaving the sisters to glare at each other._

I looked at Phoebe and Piper as the image disappeared. I couldn't believe what Id' just seen. They'd known that Andy had raised Brianna. They'd known a hell of a lot more than they'd let on.

"I can't believe you did that to her," was all I could think of to say.

"She was pretty mad at me for a while but eventually she just forgot it. Or at least she didn't' let on that she thought about it," Phoebe assured me. None of us had noticed that Brianna had walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked, making us all jump.

"We were just showing Paige something that she needed to see," Phoebe answered.

"It affects her too. We can tell her," Piper muttered.

"You're parents had a little falling out shortly before your dad died," Piper continued.

"It was about me wasn't it," Brianna questioned.

"Yes," my older sister sighed.

"Some of the emotions your Mom was carrying around were very strong still," Phoebe tried to lessen the blow.

"She didn't tell Dad what happened to her, did she," Bree murmured.

"No…and she never wanted to. She didn't want to hurt him," Piper answered.

"Then how did he know?"

"We told him. We shouldn't have but we did. We thought he should know," Phoebe explained. Brianna looked a little put off at this. I couldn't help but feel like all of this was making Brianna feel less wanted by everyone involved. Maybe it was just my own feelings surfacing. I couldn't be sure.

"He never knew that she put me in the system. He wouldn't have liked that," she admitted.

"Your Dad was a great guy. Even if he wasn't your real biological father I bet he was pretty great," Phoebe consoled. I suddenly remembered I had offered to get her a glass of water. I headed towards the sink, grabbing a glass and filling it up. I handed it to her and she took a big swig.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs," she said quietly and headed towards the stairs. Piper started after her but I stopped her.

"She needs to be alone. Believe me. I know how she feels," I said.

"I hope you don't feel like Mom didn't want you," Piper told me.

"I know why she had to do it…but it doesn't mean I have to like it just yet," I answered.

"Life gets complicated in this family…really fast," Phoebe grumbled just as Cole shimmered in. He had horrible timing.

"Why so glum?" he asked of all of us.

"None of your business," I shot.

"Paige…it's ok," Phoebe tried to tell me but I wasn't buying it.

"No Phoebe it's not ok. She is too vulnerable right now. I don't want him anywhere near her," I spat.

"What's go you all moody?" Cole snickered.

"It's family stuff, sweetie. It's kind of touchy," Phoebe whispered.

"You know, Pheebs. I agree with Paige on this one. I mean, Cole…you're great but….this is something we don't want accidentally getting tortured out of you," Piper told him.

"I think I feel insulted," he said, feigning hurt.

"I guess you're right, Piper. But he is going to find out anyways," Phoebe said, making Piper groan.

"Paige…it's you're call. She's still technically your innocent," Piper directed at me.

"Fine, tell him but nothing too private," I said with resignation.

"Brianna…our innocent….she's Prue's daughter," Phoebe explained.

"Prue had a daughter? That's news to me," Cole smirked.

"Well don't go telling the entire Underworld," I muttered.

"Don't worry, Paige. I won't tell a soul," he answered.

"Cole…please. You have to promise you won't tell anyone. We can't risk the Source going after her to get to us," Phoebe begged.

"I promise I won't tell anyone who she is, Phoebe. Come on, I'm taking you to lunch," I told her.

"Honey, it's only ten fifteen," she retorted.

"So we'll make it brunch. Come on," he insisted and they shimmered out.

"I still don't like him knowing," I mumbled.

"I know. But he's part of the family," Piper sighed.

"They're not married so he's not family," I spat darkly. He always had a way of putting me in a bad mood; lousy half demon jerk. Just then Leo orbed in and must have noticed my unease.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"Oh…well Bree is really Brianna…Prue's daughter and our niece. And Phoebe and I showed Paige the huge fight Prue and Andy had a few years ago about Brianna. And Cole knows we have a niece. So nothing out of the ordinary," Piper answered.

"Eventful morning. So is Brianna doing ok?" he asked.

"I think she's a little overwhelmed and feeling a little unwanted," I interjected.

"Did Phoebe get that from her?' he wanted to know.

"No. I did and I know how she feels because I've felt it too," I murmured.


	6. Magic Lessons

Magic Lessons

Later that afternoon I made my way upstairs to check on Brianna. I knew she needed some time to get a handle on all of this stuff but if she was anything like me, she needed someone to talk to. I knocked softly and she pulled the door open.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Sure," she mumbled and I walked in.

"They hate me don't they," she blurted.

"No they don't hate you. It's just…a little overwhelming for them too," I answered.

"It's going to take some getting used to, I know," I added, laying a hand on her knee.

"So do I have to go into another foster home?' she asked.

"No. I'm going to talk to the agency tomorrow and get you out of the system," I promised.

"So do I have to hide my magic while I'm here?' she questioned.

"Nope. This is a magic allowed zone. We should probably get you started on magic lessons," I answered. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"We're kind of in the same boat. Both new to this whole magic thing. We can learn together," I answered.

Suddenly there was a loud crash downstairs and I sprinted out of the room, Bree hot on my heels. We found Phoebe ducking behind the couch and Cole flinging an energy ball at a really disgusting looking demon.

"Damn bounty hunters," he groaned, helping Phoebe up.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to her.

"That's ok," she sighed, kissing him.

"Nice of you to drop in," I remarked.

"Oh, we didn't see you there," Cole snorted.

"Obviously," I shot.

"Is everything ok?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh yeah…fine. Nice of you to come home," I answered.

"Whoah, what's with the jealousy?" she spat at me.

"I'm not jealous," I retorted and headed for the kitchen.

"What is going on? I don't need sisters killing each other," Piper groaned.

"Cole is dragging demons into the house," I told her.

"Hey, you don't any right to accuse him of anything. We've been at this a lot longer than you have. I think we know how it works," Phoebe shouted.

"I'm so sorry I had to interrupt your lives," I ground out.

"That's enough!" Leo called over all of us.

"Listen to yourselves. This is ridiculous. You shouldn't be fighting right now. You have more important things to deal with," he continued.

"Like what?" I shot.

"Like protecting your innocent," he replied.

"You know I don't think Prue would have wanted her daughter to deal with all of this," Phoebe muttered.

"No, Phoebe. You're confusing her with Dad. Prue always respected our gift and she knew how important it was," Piper retorted.

"Why don't you summon her and ask her?" Cole suggested.

"Shut up," both of my sisters snapped at him.

"Um…can I say something?" Brianna asked, her voice drowned out by all of our bickering. No one heard her. She took a deep breath and let out a loud whistle. We all looked at her.

"May be new to all this magic stuff but I'm not new to bickering families. Maybe I should just leave," she sighed.

"No. We don't want you to leave, honey. We're very glad to have you," Piper replied.

"Somehow I just don't think so. I come here and you all start fighting," she continued.

"Sisters fight. It's the nature of siblings," Phoebe tried to explain.

"No. I think Bree might be right. All of this has dragged up some painful memories. Maybe we all need to deal with them before we move forward," I interrupted.

"How do you propose we do that?" Phoebe asked, her tone calmer than before.

"I honestly don't know," I sighed.

"Do you have any suggestions?" I addressed Leo.

"One but I'm not sure how much it will help," he answered. We all looked at him expectantly.

"You could summon your mother. She knew the situation. It's the next best thing to summoning Prue," he explained.

"You really think Mom can help us?" Piper asked.

"I think she can set you on the path to healing," her husband responded.

"Everybody upstairs," Piper announced, ushering us towards the stairs.

"You stay," I heard her tell Cole. He didn't follow us up. When we got to the attic, Brianna looked around in awe at all of the magical objects just sitting around. Phoebe grabbed five candles and lit them. Piper grabbed the Book of Shadows and flipped through it.

"What is that?" Brianna asked.

"This is everything there is to know about our family line. Plus a whole lot of other stuff," Piper answered, finally finding the spell. We looked at the page and in one voice began to chant.

"Hear these words, hear my cry Spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the great divide," we read aloud. The candles flickered and a wind filled the center, depositing our mother's spirit. She looked surprised but stepped out, becoming solid.

"Girls, what's going on?" she asked.

"We have some problems and we were hoping you could help us," Phoebe explained. Mom looked around and spotted Brianna who was now browsing the Book.

"Is that?" she asked and we all nodded.

"Well I see we do have some things to work out," Mom sighed and we all sat down.

"So who wants to go first?' she asked.

"I will," I said, raising my hand in the air a little.

"I guess I can relate to Bree. I mean I know what it's like to know you're parents had to give you up. I guess I just haven't really come to terms with knowing that had you had the option, you would have kept me," I sighed.

"Oh Paige. Sweetheart, if I did it again, I wouldn't have given you up. I would have fought the Elders," Mom assured me. I smiled a little.

"Is that all that is bothering you?" she asked.

"I feel like I don't fit in. I mean there was this great Power of Three and then I showed up and I feel like by not knowing as much as Piper and Phoebe, I let them down," I admitted.

"We know you're still learning," Piper told me, placing a hand on my knee.

"I know…I guess I just have some trust issues….foster care does that to a kid," I answered, fighting back tears.

"Now what is wrong with the two of you?" Mom questioned of my sisters.

"We weren't ready to have this part of our lives reopened," Piper answered.

"We know why Prue did what she did but a part of me feels responsible. Somehow I feel like we should have done something to stop her," Phoebe murmured.

"And it's not that we don't want Brianna here with us…because we do. Not only is she our innocent but she's our niece and that should be reason enough to protect her," Piper added.

"It's just…we never quite handled Prue's assault. She wouldn't let us. I guess it's been festering inside for all these years," Phoebe concluded.

"I'm so sorry that you girls feel this way. I know your sister never meant to keep you from healing. I'm afraid there isn't much I can do for you other than tell you that I know Prue would want you to move on from all the pain she held in side and embrace this opportunity," Mom answered.

"Like I told her thirteen years ago, she needed to accept what happened and get mad about it. And then she needed to deal with it. I want you girls to do the same. Accept that it happened, but get mad about it. Break a chair. Vanquish a demon or four. And then sit down and talk your feelings out. I know you can't summon Prue right now but in time, it will be easier. And talk these feelings out with Brianna. She is a part of this too," she concluded.

"Thank you Mom," Piper sighed, hugging her tightly. Phoebe and I joined in and for a while I felt like everything was right in the world. I was in my mother's arms and I knew she loved me. We finally broke apart and we all looked over at Bree. She was sitting just looking back at us. Mom got up and joined her.

"Hello my darling," she whispered.

"You're my Grandmother," Bree stated.

"Yes I am. And I'm here for you," she breathed, kissing Bree's forehead.

"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you," she prompted the thirteen-year-old.

"I just never thought this would happen to me," Brianna admitted.

"It's a scary thing. But your aunts will be there for you every step of the way," Mom assured her.

"And I hope you know that your Mother is watching you every day," she added. At this comment Bree shrunk back a little.

"It will take some time to get used to all of this. I'm just a spell away if you need me," Mom promised.

"For all of you ' she added, standing up.

"Do you have to go?" Piper asked.

'I'm afraid so, sweetie. Your sister needs me," she sighed. We all gave her one last hug before she disappeared.

"So what happens now?" Brianna asked.

"I think we need to sit down and figure all of this out…before it starts really affecting our powers," Piper answered.

"Yeah…suppressions is never a good thing in this family," Phoebe added.

"I guess that's lesson number one," Bree said with a small smile.


	7. Work Itself Out

Work Itself Out

Once again we all headed downstairs and Piper started a pot of coffee. None of us noticed that Cole was still lurking around…well not until he decided to shimmer in right behind Piper. She let out a yelp and nearly dropped the coffee pot.

"Didn't mean to scare you. Just thought I'd ask what was for dinner," he said. Piper glared at him.

"You're not staying for dinner. We have some things to work out and we don't need any demonic interruptions," Piper told him.

"Piper," Phoebe groaned.

"What? It's not his business," she quipped back. For once I didn't feel like I was fighting a one-sided battle. Piper didn't want the demon there either.

"I get it. I know when I'm not wanted," he said, taking a small bow before shimmering out. Phoebe shot Piper a pleading look but my older sister just shook her head.

"We don't need him making things worse," Piper muttered, pouring each of us a cup of coffee.

"Ok so let's…do this," I said, sitting down at the kitchen table. My sisters and Brianna joined me and we all just stared at each other for a while. God was this awkward.

"So Mom said to get angry about what happened," I prompted.

"I think we need to deal with your issues first," Piper told me. I couldn't help but let out a little snort.

"What's so funny?" she snapped.

"Nothing…just you're avoiding talking about Prue," I mumbled.

"Ok…let's just get this over with," Phoebe muttered.

My sisters just looked at each other in silence. They looked pretty clueless. I couldn't really blame them. Phoebe finally opened her mouth to speak.

"I don't know what we're supposed to say. I mean yes I was scared to death when I got that premonition of Prue being attacked but I don't see how that really helps us at all," she admitted.

"Honestly…I wish she'd told us sooner. Keeping all of that emotion and fear inside didn't just put her at risk…it put all of us at risk. And we paid that price," Piper stated.

"But it wasn't Prue's fault that demon sent you into a coma," Phoebe defended.

"I know it wasn't. But if she'd been more in control of her emotions she wouldn't have froze," Piper rebutted.

"Piper, you sound like Grams," Phoebe accused.

"What are you talking about?" Piper shot back.

"While you were in a coma, you have no idea how much Grams blamed Prue for what happened," Phoebe answered. I just sat there watching and listening. I think this was what Mom wanted them to do.

"I'm not saying it was her fault, Phoebe. But she should have known by then that suppressing emotions in this family is never a good idea," Piper shot back.

"I can't believe you're acting like she asked for this," Phoebe shouted and I winced. This was getting ugly.

"I never said that! Do not put words in my mouth," Piper hissed.

"Uh…guys," I tried to interrupt but they ignored me.

"I'm surprised you're even taking Prue's side in this, the way you two fought," Piper snapped.

"Yeah well someone has to defend her," Phoebe retorted. I looked over at Brianna and could this was freaking her out.

"Guys shut up for two seconds!" I shouted and they looked at me.

"What?" the both snapped at me.

"I think you've sort of moved past the point of talking about your feelings," I said, my voice quieter than before.

"I guess we just never realized how much it hurt us too," Piper sighed.

"Yeah I mean…I never really thought about how much pent up anger I had about the whole thing…especially since she basically forbid us from talking about it," Phoebe added.

"You guys have a right to be angry about it. But blaming each other won't help," I stated calmly. Who knew I'd end up being the mediator in this.

"You're right. We shouldn't take our anger out on each other. We'll be back to square one," Phoebe admitted.

"But do you at least feel better now?" I asked.

"I do, yeah. It was good to get out those feelings," Piper answered and I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Me too. I guess my empathy power brought Prue and I closer during that time than I'd thought," Phoebe added. I watched my sisters turn to face Brianna.

"We don't want you to think we didn't love your Mom," Phoebe said gently.

"I know you did. It's just kind of scary seeing what her decisions did to you," Bree murmured.

"Had we been older we would have fought her to let you stay," Piper assured her.

"Thanks," she murmured. Phoebe sighed, a faint smile on her lips.

"Some of the tension is definitely gone," she announced. And with that they turned on me.

"Ok Missy Paige. Spill," Phoebe demanded.

"It's nothing," I tried to protest.

"Paige it's not nothing. It's never just nothing in this family," Piper remarked.

"I just feel like sometimes I don't fit in because you've been doing this your whole lives and I barely know anything. I just feel like you'd be better off without me," I admitted.

"Well honey, it's going to take time for you to learn things. We understand that," Phoebe stated.

"And we don't expect you to replace Prue," Piper added, not sounding entirely believable.

"I just feel like I have these huge shoes to fill and I can't do it no matter how hard I try," I sighed.

"Just give it time. We're going to figure out how we work best as a team. We're not going to just kick you out," Phoebe said, giving my hand a firm squeeze.

"Well I feel better too. I guess Mom knew what she was talking about," I heaved a sigh.

"Yeah, she's pretty good at that…even if she is dead," Piper mused.

"Did you know Prue summoned her a lot during that time? She never told us until afterwards," Phoebe said with a smile. We sat there all smiling at each other when I suddenly realized I needed to stop by work to start the paperwork to get Piper and Phoebe custody of Brianna.

"I have to go," I said abruptly.

"Go? Where?" Piper asked, sounding disappointed.

"I just have to stop by work and pick up some stuff," I answered. I was assuming they wanted custody. Of course if they didn't, I'd take her. I was still family after all.

"Can I go with you?" Bree asked.

"It's nothing real interesting. Just have to print out some paperwork," I told her.

"I still want to go," she pressed. I got the hint that she wanted to talk so I nodded and grabbed the keys to my car.

"We'll be back," I called over my shoulder as we headed out the front door.

"How you doing?" I asked once we were in the car.

"Ok I guess. It's still so crazy," she sighed.

"I know. But it will get better," I promised her again.

"So what do you have to pick up?" she probed.

"Oh just some forms that I'll need to fill out to get you out of the system and custody papers for Piper and Phoebe," I answered.

"You really think they want custody?" she gasped.

"I'm sure they do. And if they don't well then you'll just come live with me. I'm your Aunt too aren't I?" I replied. She nodded.

"Don't worry. By the end of the week you'll be with people who want you and understand your powers," I said as we pulled into the parking lot at South Bay Social Services. We both limbed out and headed inside. I was hoping to avoid my boss but not such luck.

"Paige, nice of you to stop by," he said, not sounding too happy.

"I'm sorry, I should have called. It's just some family things have come up. That's actually why I'm here," I rambled.

"See it turns out my sisters are actually Brianna's aunts…which makes me her aunt too. Anyways, I just need to get a copy of the custody paperwork," I continued.

"Wait a minute. You're telling me just now that you found relatives?" he asked.

"Yeah, see her mother's maiden name was Halliwell. I guess I never made the connection since Brianna's last name is Warren," I added, trying to explain myself in a hurry. I wanted to get this paperwork going as soon as I could.

"Ok, ok. Just don't miss work tomorrow," he scolded. I nodded and Bree and I headed over to my cubicle. I searched through my drawer until I found the paperwork I needed.

"Can you go make a copy of this for me?" I asked, pointing her in the direction of the copy machine. She nodded and headed over. I scanned my email messages quickly and typed hurried responses to a couple of them by the time Bree was done copying. I tossed the originals back in the folder and we headed out. I hoped my sisters would be receptive to this idea. Maybe it would help them move on from all the pain they'd been holding onto.


	8. The Real Lessons

The Real Lessons

We got back to the Manor just as Piper was putting dinner on the table. I tossed the paperwork on top of Bree's file in the foyer as well as my keys and purse.

"Looks good," I commented as we all sat down.

"Where's Leo?" I asked, noticing he wasn't there.

"The Elders called him up there a while ago. Not sure why," Phoebe answered. I nodded. The Elders were still a strange concept to me. From my sisters reactions they didn't like them and I took that as my cue to follow in their footsteps.

"So is everything at work ok?" Piper asked me.

"Yeah it's fine. I just had to get some stuff. We should look over it after dinner," I answered, taking a bite of roast beef.

"Ok," she answered.

"So you are going to school tomorrow?" she asked Bree.

"I guess so," she replied with a shrug.

"Good. You'll have to tell us all about it," Phoebe interjected. I smiled as we finished dinner. It felt almost natural, like we'd been doing this for years instead of a couple of days.

"Do you want some help?" Bree offered as Piper started to clear the dishes.

"Sure," she said and the pair headed into the kitchen.

"How you holding up?" Phoebe asked me as we wandered into the sun room.

"I'm doing alright. As long as I can get her out of the system and into familial custody by the end of the week I think I'll be fine…at work at least," I replied.

"This is a lot for you to take in too, isn't it," she stated as we both sat down.

"Yeah I mean I never really knew all that much about Prue. You gusy rarely talk about her," I started but stopped myself.

"It's not like you have to talk about her all the time or anything," I added quickly.

"It's ok, Paige. I know what you meant. Maybe we should talk about her more. After all we have two people in the house now that didn't really get the chance to know her. You both should have had that opportunity," she murmured.

"Thanks. That mean's a lot to me," I said, pulling her into a hug.

"Maybe one day we'll be able to summon her and we can have a huge family moment. Maybe bring Mom and Grams along too and make it a real party," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah…that'd be nice. I think Brianna would like that," I agreed.

"I have a question. Why is Brianna's last name Warren?" I asked. The question had suddenly popped into my head. I think I was starting to think about the paperwork sitting in the hallway.

"Well…Prue didn't want demons to find her. We haven't used the last name Warren in a few generations. Prue thought it would keep her safe. Besides she didn't want her to be traced back to us," Phoebe explained, looking very sad.

"She was named after some pretty powerful ancestors. Brianna shared Prue's power of telekinesis. And well…Melinda Warren is our ancestor that started this whole Charmed legacy," she explained. Man did I have a lot of family history to learn.

"I guess she and I both have a lot learn. Maybe having something else will make it easier," I sighed just as Piper and Bree walked in.

"What's going on in here?" Piper asked.

"Just waiting for you guys," Phoebe answered.

"File," I called out and the file and paperwork orbed into my hands.

"That is cool," Bree said with a smirk.

"Thank you. I'm getting better at it," I said. I was getting better at summoning things. Now if only I get the whole orbing thing down.

"So what did you need to talk to us about?" Piper asked, sitting on the arm of one of the whicker chairs.

"Well I figured you guys would want custody of Brianna," I explained. Piper and Phoebe looked at each other and back at me.

"What about you? She's your niece too. You should have custody of her too," Piper remarked. Bree's eyes lit up.

"You mean you all want me?" she asked. She sounded shocked.

"Of course we do. We're your family. We should be together. All of us," Phoebe answered, squeezing her hand.

"That means you too, Paige," Piper added.

"I don't know, Piper. I mean…it's only been a few months. I mean do you really want me to move in?" I retorted.

"Yes. Believe it or not, we're stronger together under one roof. We learned that lesson a long time ago," she responded.

"But is there enough room?" I asked, trying to count the bedrooms in my head.

"Leo and I will move into the master bedroom. You can have my room and Bree can have Prue's," she explained.

"When can I move in?" Bree questioned.

"Well how much stuff do you have to move in?" Piper asked.

"Just my suitcase," she answered, looking a little put out.

"Well I tell you what. We can move you in tonight and this weekend we'll go shopping and get you a whole bunch of new clothes," Phoebe offered and Bree nodded enthusiastically. I might have to tag along on that trip.

"So what about me?" I questioned. Boy were there a lot of questions being asked today.

"We can get Leo to help you move your stuff. You can probably just orb it here," Piper replied. I nodded. We'd have to see about that. For all I know I'd end up on some desert island.

"So about the paperwork?" I finally reminded them. Piper got a pen and began filling in the various forms. They circulated between the three of us and after about a half hour they were all filled out.

"I'll file these with the court in the morning and it should be finalized in a day or two. We might have to go before a judge to prove familial relations," I explained, putting the cap on the pen.

"I can just work from home for the next couple days," Phoebe said.

"I can get someone to cover for me at the club," Piper added.

"Great. So what do you say we go move Bree in?" I suggested and we all headed upstairs. We walked into Prue's room and Bree unzipped her suitcase. It was then that I realized how little she really had.

"What happened to all the rest of your stuff?" I asked.

"I moved around so much I figured keeping stuff wasn't worth it. I mean it is easier to pack one suitcase than three," she mumbled.

"Well you won't be going anywhere for a while. Not until college at least," I said and my sisters laughed.

"Can I look at the Book some more?' she asked abruptly once all of the contents of her suitcase had been unpacked and put into the chest of drawers.

"Sure…just don't read anything out loud. We don't want any accidental spells being cast," Phoebe told her. She headed out of the room the get the Book from the attic.

"Thanks," she said, giving me a hug.

"For what?" I asked.

"Finding my family. For wanting me," she answered. I fought back some tears as I embraced her back.

"It's my job hon," I whispered.

"And I'm glad we figured out who you were. I was getting worried that you'd never find a place to feel safe," I told her after we'd pulled apart.

"I already feel safer," she murmured just as Phoebe returned with the book. Bree took it and plopped down on the bed. I quietly followed Phoebe out of the room and into Piper's room.

"You did a really good thing today," Phoebe told me.

"I did, didn't I. I guess that's what being a social worker is all about," I remarked.

"No…it's what being a good witch is all about. Protect the innocent. You did a great job," Piper interpreted. I nodded. I guess that was important too.

"I know this is going to be a hard adjustment. Two people moving in at once so I apologize if either of you get annoyed with me," I stated off-handedly.

"We'll get through it. It's what needs to happen. I would have thought it wouldn't be so soon but with Bree in the picture, I realize it has to be now not later," Piper admitted.

"I appreciate that. So do you think I was just supposed to reunite Bree with you guys…well us?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know. I mean we still need to teach her how to control her power. We were lucky to have Grams but she's gone thirteen years without any knowledge of the gift she has," Phoebe answered.

"You think a demon will come after her or anything?" I murmured. I was hoping we were just supposed to teach her how to control her power.

"Not a demon or anything…The demon," a voice said from behind us. We all spun around to see a battered looking Cole. Phoebe rushed to him immediately. Not two seconds later, Leo appeared in orbs.

"We've got trouble," he said. We all just looked at him. What was going on now?


	9. Quick Study

Quick Study

I looked between Cole and Leo in confusion. Clearly Cole showing up looking like he took a beating wasn't a good thing, even if I didn't like him. But there was something seriously wrong with both he and Leo showing up not looking very happy.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The Elders think that….Brianna is in trouble," Leo answered. Just great. My first innocent turns out to be my niece and now she's in magical trouble too.

"What's your story?" I snapped at Cole. This was not how I wanted to end my day.

"I had no choice," he prefaced. That wasn't a good sign.

"No choice in what?" Piper asked, her voice starting to take on an edge of annoyance as well.

"I got caught…by the Source…and he sort of…" he trailed off.

"Just spit it out!" I spat.

"Let it slip that you had a niece," he mumbled.

"You did what?" I bellowed. The lousy scum! I knew he couldn't be trusted.

"How could you?" Piper added.

"Guys…he was obviously tortured for the information," Phoebe tried to weakly defend her boyfriend.

"Phoebe…the Source of all Evil knows we have a niece who is obviously a witch," Piper shouted.

"But that doesn't mean Cole meant to let it out," she countered.

"Fighting isn't going to help. If the Source knows about Bree…which clearly he does he's going to go after her," Leo interjected. I couldn't believe this. I left them bickering and burst into Bree's room. The Book was sitting on the night stand and she was laying on the bed.

"Hey…you ok?" I asked nervously. What if he'd already gotten to her?

"Fine," she answered, not looking at me.

"I don't want to scare you but…there is a very dangerous demon that knows who you are and might try and hurt you to get to me and my sisters," I explained.

"A demon?" she asked, seeming uninterested.

"Yes…a very powerful demon. One who has been trying to destroy us for years," I tried impress upon her.

"Why would it go after me?" she sighed.

"Because you are vulnerable," I answered. Why wasn't this getting to her? Frustrated, I stormed back into Piper's room.

"Something is very wrong," I announced.

"I think we know that, Paige," Piper snapped.

"No…I told Bree that a very powerful demon might be after her and she didn't seem to care," I explained.

"She's a teenage girl. They don't usually care about anything," Cole remarked.

"They do if it involves them," I hissed.

"Paige is right. If it had to do with her, she should be really interested," Phoebe agreed.

"So what…you think the Source already go to her?" Piper asked sharply.

"I don't know," I answered. That thought had obviously crossed my mind. I hoped it wasn't true.

"Maybe Phoebe can get a premonition off of her?" I suggested after a minute of silence.

"Or see if she can pick up the Book?" Cole added.

"You've tricked it," I shot.

"But the Source couldn't…not even in a mortal body," he countered.

"How about we just calm down for a minute before we do something irrational," Leo called loudly.

"We can't wait, Leo. If he has gotten to her…who knows how fast he's going to work…tricking her into using her magic for evil," Piper hissed at her husband.

With that my sisters and I stormed out and into Bree's room…again. She looked up when we all walked in. She didn't say anything. She just looked at us for a minute before turning her gaze away.

"Bree," Phoebe said gently, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine," she answered. Her voice seemed sort of hollow. Phoebe discreetly placed her hand on Bree's shoulder. She inhaled sharply and both Piper and I stared at her. She quickly pulled her hand away and stood up.

'Are you ok, Aunt Phoebe?" Bree asked.

"Fine. I just got a chill that's all," she lied and picked up the book. We followed her house.

"What did you see?" I demanded once we were out of ear shot.

"I saw…" she began but she looked like she needed to sit down. It took both Piper and to guide her to the bed in Piper's room. Cole and Leo were standing there eyeing each other.

"Are you alright?" Cole demanded as soon as Phoebe was seated.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"I got a premonition. The Source definitely got to her," Phoebe rasped. I felt my body swaying at the news. I remember the room starting to spin but after that there was nothing. I opened my eyes to find myself on the bed, staring up at four very anxious faces.

"What happened?" I breathed.

"You just fainted, sweetie," Phoebe answered.

"Oh," I murmured. My head was a little fuzzy. I didn't hit it did I?'

"Did I hit my head? I don't really remember why I fainted," I mumbled.

"No you didn't hit your head Paige," Leo told me.

"You apparently freaked out over the fact that…" Cole began but was violently hushed by my sisters.

"No…what was he going to say?" I demanded, slowly sitting up.

"Honey…Bree is being possessed by the Source," Piper said in a hushed voice.

"Oh God…what are we going to do?" I groaned.

"We can try and dispossess her. But it is going to take some serious magic," Phoebe answered.

"Well…how did you do it before…when he possessed…" I started to ask.

"I froze him and he sort of fell out," Piper cut me off.

"So can we just try that again?" I pleaded.

"I know we don't want her to do anything evil but maybe she shouldn't confront her," Phoebe sighed.

"Phoebe she's your niece. She's family for Christ sake. And some super powerful demon is controlling her. Why the hell would we not confront her!" I shouted. We all grew quiet when suddenly there were footsteps outside the room. I held my breath. What if I'd pissed her off? The doorknob slowly turned and the door opened to reveal Bree standing there. I could see the evil reflected in her eyes and I couldn't help but orb out of fear. When I reappeared Bree was holding Piper at knife point.

"Damn it," I spat to myself for my uncontrolled orbing. Finally realizing that my possessed niece had my sister with a knife to her throat I jumped into action.

"Bree let her go," I pleaded.

"Screw you," she spat, her voice a lot deeper than any girl's should be.

"You don't want to hurt her. She is family," I continued. If I could get through to Bree…just for a second then maybe she could force the Source out of her. It wasn't working. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cole forming an energy ball. My gaze darted between him and Brianna. I couldn't let him hurt her. Possessed or not, she was still m y innocent.

"No!" I shouted, waving my hand at the energy ball. It disappeared in orbs. I heard a crash downstairs. I hope it wasn't something too important or sentimental.

"You don't want her. Come and get me," I called, hoping that if I used myself as bait Piper could freeze her. That idea seemed to appeal to the Source because he turned Bree around and she came at me. I took a few steps backwards, trying half-heartedly to get away from her.

"Piper, now!" Phoebe called and Piper's hands flicked out. Bree froze but nothing happened. Why was nothing happening? Then slowly, a form began to fall out of her and onto the floor. I jumped back a little as his hand brushed against my skin.

"Gross," I whined as he fully disentangled himself from Bree. She quickly unfroze and let out a loud ragged breath.

I should have paid more attention to what was going on around me. Of course at the moment I had tunnel vision. I was focused totally on Bree. I didn't see the Source get up and send an fireball at Piper. I didn't see her dodge it just in time. I didn't see Phoebe duck behind the bed or Leo and Cole get thrown into the wall. I didn't even feel the fireball as it graze my arm. It was like everything was moving in silent slow motion. I was trying to reach out and grab Brianna, to pull her behind me and keep her safe but I wasn't fast enough. Before my eyes I saw the Source give me a sinister smile and grab Bree around the middle.

"Let me go!" she cried out. It sounded so far away with the blood pounding in my ears.

"No!" I shouted and lunged forward but he was too fast. In a blast of hell fire they disappeared and I fell to the ground, landing on my wrist. I felt it snap but I didn't care. I'd just lost my innocent again. What was the point of all this damn witch stuff I couldn't even keep one damn person safe?


	10. Sense and Rescue

Sense and Rescue

"Paige, let Leo heal you," Piper was saying to me. Why was she worrying about me when the Source had just kidnapped Bree?

"I'm fine," I answered. I was so focused on finding Bree that my broken wrist wasn't even registering. Well that is until Phoebe deliberately grabbed me.

'Ow!" I squealed, jumping in pain. I looked down at my wrist and cringed at just how awful it looked.

"Ok…maybe he can heal me," I sighed, offering up my injury. Leo gave me a smile as he placed on hand over my wrist and the other over my forearm. A golden light shown over the two spots and slowly my body healed itself.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked, the Source's attack just now registering in my head.

"We're fine," Piper assured me.

"I just…I was so focused on saving her…and I couldn't even do that," I breathed, fighting back tears.

"We'll get her back. We aren't going to lose this innocent," Phoebe said, hugging me tightly.

"But isn't this what he wants? To lure you down there…where Leo can't get to you?" Cole interjected.

"It doesn't matter if it's a trap or not, Cole. We're going. We can't just let him hurt our niece. This is personal," Phoebe spat.

"At least let me go with you….I can distract some of his flunkies," Cole begged.

"Why are you so keen on going back down there?" I shot.

"Because this is clearly important to Phoebe. And I want to support her in it," he quipped back.

"Don't forget it was you who got us into this mess," I accused.

"I already told you. I didn't mean to for it to slip. But when you've got all manner of hellfire eating you alive, you don't really have much choice," he hissed.

"Guys, let's not get into this again, please. We need to go save our niece. If anything happened to her…Prue would freak out," Piper interjected. I just nodded and glared at Cole one more time before we headed up to the attic to scry for her. I leaned over the map, my arm starting to get sore as the crystal simply continued to spin.

"It's not working," I complained. Piper and Phoebe were looking through the Book but had found nothing to help locate her. Suddenly Leo spoke up.

"You could try sensing her, Paige. She is your innocent first and foremost. And you are part whitelighter," he suggested.

"I've been a witch for like two months, Leo. I can't even orb right," I retorted.

"Just try. Close your eyes. Focus on Brianna. Block everything else out of your mind," he coached. I raised a skeptical eyebrow at him but did as he instructed anyways. I guess at this point anything was worth a shot.

"Do you feel anything?" Leo asked.

"Yeah…how stupid I must look," I answered, opening my eyes.

"Come on Paige. Just try and focus. You can do this. Brianna needs you," Leo said sternly. I let out a long sigh but closed my eyes again and concentrated. I knew my sisters were counting on me.

I closed all the sound out of the room, focusing only on Brianna. I pictured her in my mind, willing myself to find her. And it worked. I could feel her fear and panic. I gasped a little as I could actually see where she was. The Source was towering over her. I opened my eyes and looked at Leo. Now I knew what Phoebe felt like getting premonitions.

"I found her," I said, sounding elated.

"Great…so we need a plan. We can't just go in there without a plan," Piper rambled.

"I think there is a spell in the Book to vanquish the Source," Leo offered.

"He can't be vanquished," Cole said off-handedly.

"Well we're going to see about that," I spat at him as Leo turned the pedestal around and we looked at the page on the Source. There was indeed a spell and I scribbled it down.

"Be careful," Leo breathed, giving Piper a hug and kiss as we joined hands. With one last look between us, I concentrated and managed to orb us into the Underworld. We ended up a few yards away from where I'd seen Bree.

"Ok, so what's the plan?" I asked in a whisper.

"How about…I distract the Source while you get her out?" Cole whispered back in my ear. I nearly jumped a good half a foot.

"We told you not to come," I hissed.

"Since when do I listen to you?" he asked.

"Just…cover us," Phoebe hissed at him. He pouted by nodded. We advanced slowly towards the cave. I was holding my breath, praying we could get Bree out of there without having to confront the Source. Of course…as seemed the usual lately I was highly disappointed. As soon as we stepped into view so did the Source.

"Foolish witches. You fell right into my trap," he sneered.

"Actually…see we knew you'd be expecting us," Piper replied coolly, flicking her wrists at him, sending him flying into a wall.

"And we have back and we're not afraid to use it," I added. Piper looked at me like I hd three heads.

"The spell," I mouthed to her. With Piper distracting the Source, I inched my way over to Bree.

"Come on…we're getting you out of here," I whispered.

"Paige, look out!" Phoebe called as the Source came at me. I orbed out just in time with Bree. We reappeared in the same spot. I was clinging tightly to her this time. I dragged Bree back with me so my sisters and I could regroup.

"Bree. Use your power," Phoebe urged.

"I don't know how," she yelped.

"Concentrate. Our power comes from our emotions," Piper coached as we all ducked out of the way of an energy ball.

"Get really mad at him and send him flying," I urged. She bit her lip and focused. She shook her arm at him and he bounced in the air a couple times before falling to the ground.

"That's…a start," I commented.

"Try again," Phoebe said, starting to sound desperate. From behind us I could hear Cole's voice.

"Could you hurry it up just a little?" he called. It sounded like he was having a hard time. I watched as Bree sent the Source flying into the opposite wall this time.

"Good…you're starting to get the hang of it," Piper said as we emerged from our hiding place. I pulled the spell from my pocket. I looked at Piper and Phoebe.

"Do you think it would make it more powerful if Bree read it with us?" I asked.

"It couldn't hurt. The Power of Three plus one," Phoebe answered. Bree looked at us nervously but joined hands with Piper and myself. I held the spell out so we could all read it.

"Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda, Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace. Halliwell witches stand strong beside us. Vanquish this evil from time and space," we chanted in one voice. Before our eyes the Source began to writhe in agony.

"Say it again," Cole shouted.

"Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda, Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace. Halliwell witches stand strong beside us. Vanquish this evil from time and space," we chanted again. The spell took a stronger hold and the Source continued to burn in flame. Finally he blew up into a million tiny pieces of ash. I looked down to see we were all covered.

"Demon ash…this never comes out," Piper groaned. Cole joined us.

"I stand corrected. He can be vanquished," he sighed. Piper, Phoebe and I all hugged Bree tightly, for the moment not thinking about stray demons or Source left-overs.

"Hate to rush the touchy moment but if we don't get out of here now…we're dead," Cole interrupted. Without a word, I orbed us home. We reappeared in the attic to find a very worried looking Leo.

"You're safe," he breathed, seeing us all in one piece.

"What happened?" he asked, noting our filthy clothes.

"Oh you know…Source left-overs," Piper answered with a smile, leaning in and kissing Leo.

"You vanquished him?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised, Leo. You were the one who told them there was a spell to do it," Cole commented.

"Ok…that's enough of you. Go…shimmer somewhere else," Piper snapped.

"Piper…not again," Phoebe whined.

"I've had enough of his snide remarks for today," she sighed.

"Everybody wearing the newly vanquished demon clothing line…follow me," she ordered and we all marched downstairs.

As we waited for the laundry to be done in the washer, we all sat around the kitchen table enjoying hot cups of coffee. Bree was trying ot avoid eye contact.

"Sorry I attacked you, Aunt Piper," she murmured.

"Oh honey you don't have to apologize. You're not really a Halliwell until you have turned evil at some point," Piper said with a smile.

"Or dated something evil," I added.

"Was that a really not so subtle Cole reference?" Phoebe asked.

"Maybe," I replied.

Before any of us could open our mouths there was a loud crash upstairs. Piper groaned and we all started to stand up.

"Leo?" she called.

"Piper…you might want to come see this," he called, his voice hoarse. Exchanging curious glances the four of us headed upstairs to see what he was yelling about.


	11. Closure to Heal

Closure to Heal

When we got upstairs we found Leo just standing there in shock. I peered around his shoulder and saw what had caused the crash. He must have stumbled backwards and ripped over a chair.

"What are you shouting about?" Piper asked. Phoebe was the first one to figure out what was going on.

"Prue?' she whispered. I couldn't tell if she was saying it so softly because she was in shock or if she was afraid Prue would disappear if she said it too loudly. At the mention of our oldest sister's name Piper spun around. I think she would have blown something up accidentally if Leo hadn't grabbed her hands.

"That is what I was shouting about," he added. Prue just looked at us. She wasn't transparent like I thought she would be. After al, Mom and Grams had been transparent.

"Uh...hi," Prue greeted weakly. She seemed just as surprised to see us.

"Wh-what...how?" Piper stammered.

"I don't know," Prue answered, taking a step towards us. In the back of my mind I wondered if she knew who I was. Without a word Phoebe grabbed Prue and hugged her tightly. I could understand. Piper joined in on the hug but I hung back. They needed some time together. I looked at Bree. She was just standing there like I was; observing.

"This...is Paige," Phoebe finally introduced me.

"I know who she is, Pheebs," Prue remarked. I must have looked surprised because she addressed me directly.

"Grams and Mom filled me in. We've had a lot of time to talk," she said and wrapped me in her arms. It felt good...finally getting to meet the sister I had come to replace. No replace wasn't the right word. I was inheriting her place.

"It's god to finally meet you," she whispered in my ear.

"Yeah...I never thought I'd get to do this," I admitted, squeezing her tightly.

"So how did you get here?" Leo asked.

"If I knew, I would tel you. Sorry I scared you...I didn't think whitelighters freaked out about ghosts. I mean...technically we are both dead," Prue answered.

"Ew," Phoebe snickered, earning her a swat on the shoulder from Piper.

"So none of you summoned me?" Prue finally asked.

"We didn't," Piper answered and turned to look at Brianna. She looked between us and sighed.

"I didn't think it would work," she muttered. Prue looked a little confused.

"But there aren't any candles. How could the spell have worked without that?" Phoebe commented. Prue touched Piper on the arm and they stepped away for a minute. By the expression on Prue's face when the rejoined us, I knew what she'd asked.

"Well I guess it doesn't really matter how it happened. I'm here now," Prue sighed, walking right up to Brianna. I watched as Bree's eyes widened.

"I think I owe you an apology," Prue whispered, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Why?" Bree asked. I watched closely as Prue took a breath.

"Because the decisions I made were selfish ones," she answered, guiding Bree to a chair.

"You were just a kid," Bree offered. I could tell she was trying her hardest not get mad at her mother. I knew that feeling all too well myself.

"But having a baby was an adult decision and I should have acted more like one," she murmured.

"I won't get upset if you're mad at me. If I were you, I'd be mad at me," she added with a small smile.

"I did feel not wanted. But I have aunts now," Bree stated.

"Yes you do. And they love you so much. I should have listened tot hem...should have tried to be a Mom," Prue sighed, giving us a smile across the room. Prue and brianna continued to talk in low tones. I turned to Piper and Phoebe.

"You guys should talk to her...about how you feel," I suggested.

"We will...but she needs to spend some time with her daughter. As strange as it sounds..I think Prue is ready to be a Mom now," Piper replied. I nodded. Prue looked really happy. Maybe I could live vicariously through Brianna and fill that piece of me that felt empty not knowing Prue.

"How are you holding up?" Leo asked softly, wrapping his arms around Piper.

"It's a shock but I know that I will have to let her go," she admitted.

"You know, a part of you can still hold on to her. She was your protector," Leo breathed.

"I know...and I will always hold her close. But I realize that we can't dwell in the past. We vanquished Shax. Hell we vanquished the Source. I'd say demons would be pretty stupid to try and attack us," Piper explained.

"Whoah...did I just hear you say you vanquished the Source of all Evil?" Prue exclaimed.

"I helped," Bree interjected proudly.

"We couldn't even manage to vanquish him. I guess I wasn't such a Super Witch after all," Prue laughed.

"Come on...we have some things to talk about," Phoebe said and I watched as and Piper ushered Prue downstairs. I was about to follow when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked to see Bree stopping me.

"Thanks again for saving me," she said.

"It's my job, remember," I said with a smile of my own.

I wanted to go downstairs but I knew that I was not a part of that chapter of their lives. They needed to deal with it in privacy. I thought about letting Bree go down but I didn't want her to get hurt by some of the nasty things that were probably being said. So Leo and I decided to clean up the attic a little bit. Bree focused, using her power to put things back on shelves and straighten up. Finally Piper came upstairs.

"We were wondering where you went," she said, spotting me.

"Oh we figured we'd just stay up here so you guys could have some space," I replied, closing the trunk I'd been filling.

"How about some dinner?' she suggested and the four of us headed o the kitchen. It felt kind of strange, siting at the table with Prue.

"How'd it go?" I asked as I helped Phoebe clear the table.

"It was good. I think we actually got more accomplished with her there than we did earlier," she answered, setting the dirty plates in the sink.

"Good. I'm glad you got some closure," I stated. The night seemed to go on forever and in no time Bree was being ushered off to bed.

"But I don't want go to bed. I'm not a little kid," she was protesting.

"You need your sleep. All growing witches do," Pure said with a little laugh in her foice as she chased her daughter towards the stairs.

"Come on, I'll say goodnight," she added. That seemed to satisfy Bree as she went quietly up the rest of the stair. Before anyone could say anything Cole shimmered.

"Please don't ruin a perfectly good evening," I begged, hoping Prue wouldn't cmoe down and find him there.

"You cal vanquishing the Source a perfectly good evening?" Cole snickered just as Prue walked down the stairs.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she snapped at Phoebe.

"Could as you the same question. Last I checked you were dead," he sneered.

"And last I checked I said I never wanted you near my sisters again," she shot back. I smiled to myself. So that's where I'd gotten my blatant dislike for the creep.

"Can we please not argue about this," Phoebe begged.

"Cole...just...we're trying to handle some family stuff. So please...give us some time," phoebe breathed. Cole gave her a pout but shimmered out.

"Don't start," Piper warned Prue and Phoebe.

Phoebe shot Prue an annoyed look and stormed off up the stairs.

"Some things never change," Prue sighed.

"I need to check on some things at the club. Will two be ok here?" Piper sighed and both Prue and I nodded.

"Don't disappear until I get back," she added as she and Leo disappeared in orbs.

Prue and I looked at each other wandered into the sun room. The sun was obviously long gone. The moon ha begun to rise and you could see some of the stars faintly flickering.

"So this is a pretty crazy family huh?" Prue mused.

"Yeah but what family isn't a little odd," I laughed.

"I can't thank you enough for finding Brianna and keeping her safe," prue sighed after a lengthy pause.

"I was just her social worker. If I hadn't found Piper and Phoebe who knows what could have happened," I answered.

"But it did happen. And she is on a path to greatness. And she has her family to guide and protect her. That's all I can ask for," she breathed. We sat in silence for a while longer until Piper got home. We headed up to the attic and each said a quick farewell before she disappeared.

That night as I lay in bed a realization settled upon me. This had been her story too. It had started with Prue almost a decade and a half ago and it had ended with me. We shared a common thread in our lives and that knowledge brought us infinitely closer than I had ever hoped.


End file.
